Pregnancy is a joyous occasion for most women and their families. However, it can also be a time of great stress and concern. Many women wonder if everything is going as it should. For most women, the reassuring sound of a heartbeat in pregnancy is the first sign that everything is fine. For others, however, a heartbeat may not be detectable. For example, a woman who is expecting twins might not be able to hear the heartbeats of both babies at the same time.
Heartbeat in pregnancy is the strongest and most reliable sign of pregnancy. When a woman is pregnant, the heart starts beating faster and in a more powerful way to support the growing fetus. The heartbeat can be heard during the doctor’s ultrasound scan. The heartbeat can be heard with a stethoscope or through the mother’s abdominal wall.
When do you get a heartbeat in pregnancy?
The best time to hear your baby’s heartbeat is at about 5 to 6 weeks after conception. In fact, it’s the only time you should be able to hear it. The heart starts as a tiny flicker of a heartbeat, with a few beats per minute. At this stage, the heart is still in the same place as the rest of the developing baby – in the abdominal cavity. Doctors recommend that you have your first prenatal appointment about six weeks after you have a positive pregnancy test. The doctor will either do an ultrasound or take a blood test at that appointment to make sure your baby is growing normally. Hearing your baby’s heartbeat is also a great experience.
Around the 10th week, the heart of a fetus is fully developed. The following table describes the development of the heart from week 5 to 10:
Week of pregnancy | Level of heart development |
5th week | The developing heart is made up of smaller pipes that have fused together creating a pipeline with pulses shooting through. The heart ceases to beat, and it is possible to detect it using vaginal ultrasound. |
6th week | The heart of the embryo is beginning to take shape — it's an S-shape with a hole in the spine at the top, and it's working hard. This hole will be where the two ventricles are located, which means they are pumping cool blood into your growing body. |
7th week | The heart continues to develop and form the ventricles and atria. |
8th week | The valves between the left and right atria of a heart form during this week. |
9th week | In the 9th week of pregnancy the aorta and pulmonary vein form. This process is called embryonic angiogenesis. |
10th weeks | When the fetus is carefully examined, a fully developed heart can be discovered in the 10th week. |
How a heartbeat is detected in pregnancy?
A baby’s heartbeat is detected between 6 and 8 weeks of pregnancy, but how is it possible? During the first week of pregnancy, the embryo is just 0.17 cm long. How can doctors detect a heartbeat in such a small embryo? It’s actually easier than you might think.
The embryo’s heartbeat is detected using an ultrasound transducer, a device that uses high-frequency sound waves to create an image of the body. The transducer is placed on the mother’s abdomen, and the sound waves travel from the transducer to the embryo and back. A computer turns the sound waves into an image of the embryo, and the heartbeat is represented as a blue line on the image. The number of heartbeats per minute can be calculated from the image.
What devices are used to hear a baby’s heartbeat?
A doctor will use a transvaginal ultrasound, a 2D ultrasound, or a 3D ultrasound during your first scan to get detailed ultrasound images of your organs.
How much heartbeat is normal in pregnancy?
In normal pregnancy, the heart rate of an unborn baby ranges from 120 to 160 beats per minute. The heart rate is usually higher in the second trimester and can reach as much as 180 beats per minute. A heartbeat that is much faster than usual can be an indication that things are not going well.
Most women can hear the sound of their baby’s heartbeat with a handheld Doppler device, which is available at most major maternity stores. The sound of a baby’s heartbeat is quite distinctive, and the rhythm is usually steady. Most women recognize the sound of their baby’s heartbeat right away. If you are unable to find your baby’s heartbeat in pregnancy, contact your doctor right away.
How to control heartbeat in pregnancy?
If a report has stated that your heart rate is out of range, instead of working to bring it down to a specific number, you should try to figure out why this happens and what the defects are. Contacting a physician is crucial if you want them to have enough information about your situation before they try to come up with possible solutions that could be beneficial in the end.
However, Pregnant woman has to go through a lot of physical changes. So, it is necessary to find the reason and take the necessary steps to control the heartbeat in pregnancy.
By following these steps, you might control heartbeat in pregnancy:
1. Eat a healthful diet:
During pregnancy, it is important for women to take in enough calories (around 2400-2900 on average) a day, depending on their age, body size, and activity level as well as other factors. They should incorporate sources of protein, healthy fats, and fruits and vegetables that can help protect against high blood pressure and ensure they are getting an adequate number of vitamins and minerals during this important time in their lives.
2. Exercise:
Yoga as well as other exercises like swimming, walking, and other low-impact options are great to do during pregnancy. By doing exercises you can control your heartbeat in pregnancy. Our body is the temple of the soul and in this temple, we need to take care of our health. We have to stay fit and healthy during pregnancy too. Not only for the sake of our body but for the sake of our baby.
3. Get proper prenatal care:
Getting regular care at a prenatal office can help with heart health and reduce the risk of developing an undetected heart condition.
4. Manage anxiety and mental health:
In some cases, anxiety can make one’s heartbeat fast and make it more challenging to balance a pregnancy. People who are having a hard time coping with anxiety should talk to their doctor about it. And if possible, one can practice breathing slowly and deeply and talk to a counselor specializing in prenatal mental health.
What causes no heartbeat in early pregnancy?
The fetal Doppler is a listening device that can be used to hear the heartbeat of an unborn baby. This can allow mother and father to hear their baby’s heartbeat for the first time. Sometimes, fetuses don’t have regular heartbeats because they are sleeping, or they might be in a quiet area of the uterus, making it hard to detect their heartbeat. When fetal heartbeats are difficult to detect, parents should not panic. 5 out of 6 times, nothing is wrong if there is no heartbeat detected.
Following are the reasons that cause no heartbeat in early pregnancy:
1. It’s Too Early in Your Pregnancy:
Some of the most common reasons you can’t detect your baby’s heartbeat at your prenatal appointment is because either you or the doctor have calculated your due date incorrectly.
2. You Have a Tilted Uterus:
If you have a tilted uterus, you may not be able to detect your heartbeat on a regular Doppler. The baby’s heartbeat is heard in the areas at the back of the uterus. Because of the angle of the uterus, it is difficult for the sound waves to be heard in the front. A transvaginal ultrasound will detect a heartbeat earlier than the regular Doppler.
3. Your Baby Is Hard to Find:
Remember that your baby is very tiny when you’re first starting out in the early stages of pregnancy. It takes patience and some good luck to capture the sound of your baby’s heartbeat with a Doppler. Your doctor or midwife will use the Doppler once every trimester as part of their routine for checking your baby’s well-being and growth.
4. Your Placenta Is in the Way:
If your placenta is in the way, your doctor may not be able to hear the fetal heartbeat even at your first prenatal visit.
5. You Are Overweight:
If you’re obese, it can be harder for your doctor or midwife to detect the sound of your baby’s heartbeat during a Doppler ultrasound (where high-frequency sound waves are used to bounce through parts of your body in order to record their movements).
Can you still be pregnant with no heartbeat?
A pregnant woman can technically still be pregnant even if there is no heartbeat present. The truth is that being pregnant is not defined by a heartbeat. It is defined by the presence of a fetus in the uterus. A fetus is an embryo or unborn baby, which is about the size of a kidney bean at this point in the pregnancy. This is important to know because the embryo or fetus is actually what causes the changes in a pregnant woman’s body, not the heartbeat. The heartbeat in pregnancy is simply a sign that the pregnancy is progressing. If a woman is experiencing pregnancy symptoms, such as morning sickness, then she is definitely still pregnant.
What is the ectopic heartbeat in pregnancy?
Ectopic heartbeats are extra or skipped heartbeat by the heart. They tend to be abrupt, and even though they make their presence known, the heart is still able to function normally. Usually, ectopic heartbeats do not cause serious problems, like long-term health complications aside from discomfort that might occur which could be further evaluated by a doctor.
